Guidelines for Internships

History Graduate Students are required to take one or two internship classes depending on their major field of study.

There are two internship classes that are offered: HIST 608 (Practicum in Public History) offered every Spring semester, and HIST 618 (Practicum in Public History II), offered both Spring and Fall semesters. A graduate student who is enrolled in History MA major field of either Americas or World only need to enroll in HIST 608. A graduate student whose major field of study is Public History must take both HIST 608 & HIST 618. 


Internship/Practicum Requirements: 

 

1. Students are expected to work for a total of 150 hours.  That assumes ten hours a week for one semester.  Students can fulfill this requirement in a shorter or longer period of time, provided that the host institution is willing to accommodate a different schedule. This means that you can spread your internship over a summer and a semester or over two semester, if your host institution agrees.

 

2. Students must do a substantive project as part of the internship.  While routine tasks are to be expected, students should be given the opportunity to use and develop their skills and knowledge, show creativity, and learn through active involvement in institutional programs.  Ideally, the project should produce a tangible product that students will be able to show prospective employers.

 

3. Students should enroll in 401/608 in the Spring semester following or during their internship (that is, summer and fall 2022, and spring 2023 interns would sign up for Spring 2023).

 

4. PH track graduate students doing their second internship sign up for 618 in the semester during the internship (though some students will sign up in the fall if they do a spring internship because sometimes it works out better with their funding).

 

5. During the first week of the internship, all students regardless of their course credit situation must turn in to the faculty supervisor a one page statement of the internship responsibilities and expected products. This provides the records of what internships our students have done.

 

7. HIST 618 students simply turn in a record of their hours and an evaluation by their supervisor at the end of the semester.

 

Please contact , who supervises all interns, before you begin an internship or sign up for the class.